


The easter egg hunt

by donnarafiki



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Easter, F/F, Femslash, Fred Lives, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 12:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10616910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donnarafiki/pseuds/donnarafiki
Summary: It’s easter at Hogwarts. Fred and George are both alive and kicking. They have decided that since Umbridge left, this might be a good moment to re-do their last year and cheer all the traumatized war-veterans up with some top quality pranks.And maybe play matchmaker for a couple or two.Maybe.





	1. part 1, intro

**Author's Note:**

> This is part one of my easter hunt story, subscribe to stay posted!  
> next chapter should be up in a day or so, im trying to finish everything and publish it before the end of actual easter but that might be a bit ambitious...

“Alright listen up ladies, gents and all who feel more comfy somewhere in between!” Fred’s eyes shot towards Alicia, who these days went by Al and they/them. “Today is the day!”

“The day you have all been waiting for!” Shouted George.

“The day of all days!” Added Lee Jordan.

“Yes, yes, yes. We heard it, now get to the point guys, I have to study.” Complained Ron, who got a pleased look from Hermione in return.

“We will, brother dear. We will. Though I will add feeling up your girlfriend is not a part of the exam this year.” Answered Fred.

“Pity.” Said McLaggen. A comment that earned him a well aimed stinging hex from both Ron and Hermione.

“Today we will see who is the best student, the best seeker, the best lion badger eagle or snake this school has to offer!” A loud cheer went up among the attendants of each house. Every seventh and eighth year student was present on the grass in front of the entry hall, even the Slytherins. “Today we will see who has the power to overcome their past and their prejudice and look forward into a bright future!” Continued Fred.

“Leo, George and I have hidden seven easter eggs on the Hogwarts grounds. It is your job to find them.” Some Hufflepuffs immediately started to look around. The others knew better. There was more to it.

“But!” Shouted Leo over the sudden chatter. “Whoever finds an egg has to carry out the instruction inside.”

“And has to do so with their assigned partner!” No one really liked the cheeky grin that had appeared on the faces of the trio.

“When the instructions are followed _to the letter_ , you will not just win eternal glory, but also a romantic date for two with your person of choice, provided by us!” Ron grabbed Hermione’s hand and grinned, but Harry’s mood sunk. A date… With who was he supposed to go on a date?

“And the pairings are…” Ron was paired with Hermione, Ginny with Luna and Seamus with Dean, but that was where the predictable picks ended. Neville was paired with Blaise and Lavender with Millicent. It wasn’t just Harry who got fidgety after the number of unassigned people shrunk.

“And last but not least, The Boy Who Lived and the Boy who will probably be the death of him, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy!” Harry’s heart sank.

“Go now, easter bunnies! Have fun!”

Harry locked eyes with Malfoy.

Fun…

More likely it would be a funeral.


	2. part 2, dean and seamus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, this is a bit longer than expected and also slightly all over the lace, but there's time pressure so this'll have to do

“Don’t you think it’s a bit odd?” Seamus was walking towards the transfiguration hallway together with Dean. They knew a high alcove in a hidden passage there that Fred and George sometimes used. The place was a bit too obvious, but they had already searched most of the other places that might contain easter eggs. As far as they knew no one had found anything yet.

“What’s odd?” Asked Seamus. He’d fallen behind a bit. Secretly he liked looking at his best mate a lot more than searching for some stupid egg. Dean would probably spent his date trying to get Ginny back again instead of… Instead of what? He didn’t know, but he did know he didn’t like to see Dean and Ginny together.

“Are you even listening?” Dean smiled at him, now walking backwards towards their intended destination. Sunlight caught in the earring he’d gotten it a month back, ‘because it looked artsy.’ Seamus didn’t know if he hated or loved it. He didn’t know anything anymore these days.

“I said that it’s a bit weird that we’re paired together. I mean, they didn’t put any other friends in the same team.” Seamus wished Dean would turn around. Or at the very least stop smiling. They’d never find those bloody eggs like this.

“They put Ron together with Hermione.”

“But Hermione would murder them if they’d ruin Ron’s mood by pairing him off with a Slytherin.” He shivered at the thought of an angry Hermione. That pick suddenly made a lot more sense.

“What about Ginny and Luna?”

“Ginny can’t be paired with anyone but Luna. She’d hex Lee and the twins’ ears off before they would even dare to think about such a thing. That girl is fierce.” Seamus smiled at his friend’s answer, but his insides hurt. He used to be fine with the youngest Weasley, but the last months she just had something about her that he didn’t like.

“So.” Concluded Dean. “Why are we paired together?”

“I dunno. Maybe they… Look out!” Dean walked back first into a knight’s armour, its sword nearly cutting into his leg. Seamus plunged forward to pull him away, cutting his own arm on the way down. Metal knight parts rained down on them as they fell to the ground. But there was something heavier amongst the scattered pieces. Something gold and shiny.

The first egg.

* * *

 

“Look! We found one!” Exclaimed Seamus, rolling on his back and grabbing a huge golden egg. Dean didn’t share his enthusiasm. There was a huge gash across his friend’s arm, and blood welled up from it quicker than Dean had seen since… _Since the battle of Hogwarts._

It surprised him Seamus was even capable of stretching his arm to grab the egg.

“Seamus, you’re hurt!” Dean sat upright and pulled his friend’s wounded arm towards himself. He had to stop the bleeding or this might have some nasty consequences.

“Oh it’s just a… Oh.” Only now did Seamus see the gap in his arm. “That’s a bit too big for a scratch…”

Dean had just enough time to pull the rest of his friend to his chest before he passed out. Seamus hadn’t been able to handle blood since he’d seen what a well aimed diffindo could do to a person during The Battle.

“Don’t worry Seamus, I’ll get you to the hospital wing. Everything will be alright.” Dean knew his friend couldn’t hear him, but he kept talking anyway. It wasn’t like blood was his favorite substance. “You’ll be fine Seam, I promise.” One of his hands ruffled his hair. “You’re going to be just fine…”

* * *

 

Seamus slowly tried to open his eyes. He vaguely remembered something about an earring… And an egg… Panicked he felt his earlobes. He hadn’t pierced his ears for that stupid contest now, had he?

“Interesting friend you’ve got there Dean, first thing he does when he wakes up is check his ears.” It was Lee’s voice.

“Well, you never know when one’ll go missing, we only average one and a half each.” Responded Fred. Or George.

“Very funny guys, but you heard Pomfrey. No more than one visitor per patient.” That was Lee again.

“When did she… Ouch, Lee!” It sounded like Lee had stepped on Fred’s foot.

“We were just leaving now, weren’t we Fred?” Seamus opened his eyes just in time to see the trio leave.

“Good morning sunshine.” Dean smiled again, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes.

“What happened?” Seamus’ voice cracked a bit. His throat was dry.

“You cut open your arm while saving me of a terribly violent piece of armour.” Dean gave him a glass of water and helped him to sit up a bit. “You were a true hero until you passed out.”

Seamus smiled at that, accidentally pouring the content of his glass on the duvet instead of in his mouth. Dean laughed.

“What was the assignment in the egg?”

“I don’t know, haven’t looked at it yet.” Dean avoided his gaze. Seamus was surprised. His best friend not interested in a twins and co. prank?

“Well, open it then! I’m dying to know!”

“You almost actually died trying to know. Do you know how much blood you lost?” Dean suddenly looked properly scared. It only hit him now how that stupid accident with that stupid egg had almost cost him the best person in his life. Djeezus.

Seamus grabbed his arm, pulled him into a hug. “I don’t know and I don’t want to know, you daft idiot. I’ll die blowing up Atlantis, remember?” It was an inside joke of them. Seamus let so many things explode Dean used to say even the underwater city wasn’t safe from his friend.

He laughed. “Sorry, of course. Silly of me to get worked up like that.”

“Not silly.” Seamus pulled away, looked into Dean’s brown eyes. “It’s kinda sweet.”

An electrically charged silence fell between them. It seemed like ages before either one of them looked away.

“So, uhm. That egg. Right…” Dean broke first and dived under the bed, hiding his face from Seamus. He probably didn’t like him that way, he shouldn’t get so close.

He pulled off his sweater so his elbow would be free to break the chocolate egg. There was a note inside.

_For eternal glory_

_And a miraculous date_

_Just “Draw me like one of your French girls”_

_With the partner assigned to you by fate_

Dean swallowed. Hard. When he didn’t respond to Seamus’ questions about the content of the note he snatched it out of his hands. He laughed.

Of course he laughed, this would be hilarious if Dean hadn’t dreamed of drawing Seamus like “One of his French girls” for ages.

Or for three months now, but that still felt like ages.

“Well, are you going to turn my mess of a body into a piece of art or should I sketch you so we’ll be on the same level of handsomeness? If you trust my awful drawing skills with your body anyway.” Seamus blushed heavily, but he had captured Dean’s eyes again and showed no signs of looking away.

“I don’t think the hospital wing is a proper studio for either one of those.” Answered Dean. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. 

Their stare intensified. Dean tentatively leaned forward. No way in hell was he going to look away now. 

“Let’s never go to Atlantis.” Whispered Dean.

“Never.” Whispered Seamus back. 

Seamus pulled him into a hug again, but this time, this time they locked lips as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone of you lovely people have suggestions for the next part (linny or drarry) please leave them in the comments or tell me on tumblr @rose-grangerweasleyisbae
> 
> also sorry for my terrible rhyming skills  
> And also I keep calling Lee Leo, so if you see me making that mistake in later chapters please do tell me. Its just that in Dutch he's called Leo so.... still, I should pay better attention to my work before I post it. My only excuse now is that ive been running on 3 hours sleep and cafeïne pills the past day oops


	3. part 3, Luna and Ginny

**_Luna and Ginny_ **

“I don’t think they would hide one here.” Ginny and Luna were standing on the edge of a pile of rubble, near a huge gap in the wall of the castle. It was the only place still left to repair after the war.

“I don't know. It would be symbolic to find an egg, the symbol of new life, among the remnants of an event that took so many.”

Luna walked into the field of rocks. She looked sad. All Ginny wanted to do was wrap her arms around her, tell her everything would be okay. Then she remembered she could. There was no one around to judge them. No one to call them names or yell homophobic slurs. 

Luna always flinched a bit when people yelled at her these days. The dreamy girl that uses to walk the Hogwarts grounds in bare feet, talking about nargles or other fantasy creatures was almost entirely gone. The war had forced her to come into contact with the real world so hard, it had almost shattered her. Sometimes Ginny was scared it had.

“There are so many dead people here. So many wandering souls.” Luna climbed one of the larger boulders and sat down. “Maybe they can tell us where the eggs are. Tell us where to find a new beginning.”

“Poetic. You should write a book.” Ginny joined her girlfriend. Her girlfriend that she didn't dare call her girlfriend yet because she wasn't sure if she was. She couldn’t bare to lose yet another person.

“You should help me write it.” Luna gave her a kiss on the nose. God her eyes were beautiful. “We’d live in a small house near the coast. Wake up every morning to the sight of each other in bed, listen to the breathing of the sea.” Luna leaned her head on Ginny's shoulder, unaware of the effect her words had on the other girl. 

Lost in a dream. That has to be it. Ginny pinched her arm

“Don't hurt yourself.” Luna pulled her hand away. “People shouldn't hurt themselves. Especially not when people are you.” She kissed her again. Slow, soft, more loving than just-a-fling kisses could ever be.

“Luna.” Whispered Ginny against her lips. “I think I'm in love with you.”

“I know.” Luna kissed her again. “They told me. The dead.” Ginny opened her eyes. Luna was crying. “They don't want us to dwell on what was. We need to focus on what can be. What is.” She squeezed Ginny’s hand, smiling through her tears.

Ginny wrapped her in a tight hug, suddenly unable to hold back her own waterworks. But where luna’s tears were quiet, graceful even, Ginny's tears were loud and ugly. They ruined the atmosphere, the mood, this magical moment. She wanted them to stop.

“You don’t have to be pretty when you cry.” Sometimes Ginny strongly suspected Luna was able to read minds. “Sadness and grief are not meant to be romantic or graceful. They hurt. They linger. They can tear you apart.” 

Luna tightened her grip around the red haired girl. “But we have to live with them. We  _ can  _ live with them. Because we still live with the dead my love. They live in us. In everything and everyone they ever loved. And they don’t want us to dwell on their death, they want us to celebrate their life, because if we are alive and happy then so are they.”

Ginny thought she might drown in feelings. Grief for her lost friends, sadness for the trauma still ruining everyday life for so many people, love for the girl that held her even when her tears weren’t pretty and graceful. 

“I don’t think I love you anymore.” She pulled back from the hug to face Luna. “I know I do.”

* * *

 

When the shadows grew longer and the temperature dropped Ginny and Luna climbed off their boulder. “It’s over there.” Luna pointed to a faint shimmer on the other side of the field or rocks.

“Let’s go get it.” Ginny didn’t grab Luna’s hand. Suddenly feeling the urge to be a teenage Gryffindor full of foolish ideas, she swept Luna of her feet like she was her bride. God, Ginny wanted her to be her bride. Luna laughed and held on tightly as Ginny carried her over the field. They nearly fell when they reached the egg. 

Luna let out a giggle, and suddenly they were both utterly lost in laughter. Ginny hadn’t been this happy in ages, even though they were among the dead. Maybe the dead were laughing too. She hoped they were.

“Well then. Let’s open this thing.” Luna grabbed the egg and pulled away the golden wrapping. She cracked it open on one of the nearby rocks to reveal a note inside.

When Luna finished reading it she smiled and handed it over to Ginny. “I think this is more meant for you than for me.”

Curious about what kind of ridiculous prank her brothers had come up with this time Ginny took the note.

 

_ Hey baby sis,  _

_ we knew you and Luna would find this egg.  _

_ We don’t want to make you do anything to get a date. You deserve all the dates in the world already. The way you are helping Luna find back her old self is nothing either one of us ever suspected to see from our tough-girl sister.  _

_ Some moments don’t lend themselves for pranks or jokes. This one right here, among the remnants of the war, is one of those moments. We hope you are happy. Both of you. You deserve it.  _

 

_ With love, Fred and George _

* * *

 

Sitting amongst the last ruined part of the castle, Ginny smiled, and kissed her girlfriend. “Well, mission accomplished I think.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know this isn't the most hilarious thing the twins have ever done but I'm just not a funny person so you'll just have to deal with it. My apologies.


	4. part 4, Harry and Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally think this one is the funniest of the three, but that’s probably just my weird sense of humour.

“Why are we even participating in this stupid Weasley contest?” It was the first thing Malfoy said after he’d stalked off towards the forbidden forest. Harry had so far not even been sure if they were participating or if Malfoy just fancied a walk and Harry was tagging along. Or stalking him.

“Uhm… I dunno. Because it's fun?” It wasn't meant to be witty or sarcastic. Harry really didn't know why they were taking part in the hunt. Especially since the price they could win wasn’t something either one of them was able to use. At least, Harry thought it wasn't.

“Last time I had proper fun was fifth year, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.” The depressing content of Malfoy's answer went right past Harry, who was still a bit lost in thought.

“Are you single?” 

“Am I  _ what, _ Potter?” They had reached the edge of the forest. Malfoy turned around to stare at Harry in surprise and disbelief, with a still lingering flicker of sadness in his eyes. It was the last question he’d expected Potter to ask.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Harry clarified, a bit flustered.

“I know what 'being single’ means, idiot.” Malfoy turned around again to enter the forest. “But it's a rather foolish question to ask a gay ex-death eater with PTSD, who is covered in scars and in general not considered to be a very nice person, don’t you think?” After a short pause he added, “Who the hell would want to date  _ me _ ?”

His pace quickened while he spoke. He had never disclosed his sexuality to anyone outside of Slytherin, and he wasn't really sure why he suddenly came out to Potter. Though Draco supposed the boy could hardly hate him more than he already did, and if there was anything he'd learned from the war then it was shielding himself from spells aimed at his back.

But Potter didn't respond at all, so Draco could safely continue walking.  _ Well, I suppose silence is still a much better response than the curses my father flung at my head. _

* * *

 

It wasn't the fact that Malfoy had just admitted he was gay that rendered Harry speechless. His often theatrical behaviour and flamboyant mannerisms made it hard to not at least suspect. It was the casual mentioning of suffering from PTSD. Harry had been struggling with nightmares, old reflexes and anxiety every day since the war had ended, but not even Ron or Hermione knew he was seeing a therapist for that. No one did. 

He'd never even thought of the possibility of just carelessly mentioning the state of his mental health, of just being open about it. It felt almost good to hear Malfoy say he was struggling, however selfish that sounded.

Suddenly Harry realised he hadn't responded to Malfoy's revelation. “What about Zabini?” 

Malfoy laughed, relieved the tense silence was broken. “Blaise the ace. A good friend but he'd never be interested in more. Besides, he's not my type.” 

“Theo?”

“Hells no. Guy’s as straight as they come and still not my type.” Draco was surprised at the amount of relief that flooded him when the other boy didn't seem phased at all to find out he was gay. So surprised he gave genuine answers to his questions.

“What is your type then?” 

“None of your business.” Draco was now over his surprise enough to prevent himself from giving a truthful answer. He could barely admit his type to himself, the last thing he wanted to do was tell Potter. “Why do you care anyway? The goal was finding some stupid egg not playing matchmaker.”

“I think you'll find Fred and George disagree with you on that. Didn't you see the other pairings?”

“They were mostly Slytherin and Gryffindor, your point?” 

“My point is that they’re trying to make us get along. They’re pretty fed up with fighting now I suppose. We all are. And forcing us to hang out might stop the quarrels amongst our lower years as well.” 

Sometimes it seemed like the first years hated each other with the same passion as Harry and Draco did at that age. It was very confronting to see their childhood feud damage the relationship between their houses so much.

“You didn’t think of that yourself, did you?” Draco cursed himself for missing the obvious. The sharp edges of his trademark wit had faded since he was on meds for his anxiety and nightmares. He often cursed how much they slowed down his thoughts. But then, not taking them wasn’t very pleasant either.

“No.” Harry blushed a bit and looked at his feet. “Hermione did.”

They were silent again after that, but this time it was a bit more bearable. Almost nice.

“Why are we in the woods exactly?” Asked Harry after five more minutes of walking among the trees. They were following the edge of the forest, where the sun shone through the fresh spring leaves, drawing patterns on the path.

“To find those bloody eggs of course.”

“But we haven't searched anywhere yet, just walked.”

“That's because I know where they hid one of them. I saw Lee and the twins come out of the forest here this morning. So if I remember correctly….” Draco craned his neck, searching the trees with his trained seeker eyes. “There.” And with a surprising ease for someone in skinny jeans and highly polished shoes he started to climb a huge oak tree standing next to the path. 

Harry noticed a golden shimmer among the highest branches of the tree. “Are you sure you can climb that high? I don’t particularly fancy catching you.”

“Nice to hear you’d be happy to let me fall to my death, and yes, I can climb that high. I might be shit at making the right choices or getting people to like me, but if there’s one thing I’ve mastered beyond fucking perfection it’s climbing trees.” It appeared to be true. Already Draco was twenty feet up in the fifty feet tree and he showed no sign of slowing down when the branches thinned and started to creak under his weight.

“I didn’t mean it like that! Of course I’d catch you if you fell!” Shouted Harry back in the direction of the fine ass that steadily moved up in the tree. Draco was now so high speaking at a normal volume would be inaudible. 

“I’m not saying you did mean it like that Potter.” Draco raised his voice now too, he had nearly reached the egg. “It’s just that I probably wouldn’t catch myself if I did fall.” But he let his volume drop so Harry wouldn’t be able to hear the last part. 

At least, that’s what he thought.

“Catch!” Draco dropped the egg into Harry's arms. Harry nearly let it crash to the ground because he'd only now began to process what Malfoy had told him. He hadn’t had any real fun since fifth year, suffered from PTSD, apparently wouldn't mind dying and on a whole he just looked quite alone and miserable. It didn't sound like much fun.

“Well, let’s see what’s in it then.” Draco climbed down the tree even faster than up. Harry didn't respond again, so Draco took matters into his own hands. 

He made a displeased sound when he finished reading the note. “If we want to win this thing we have to hold hands for 24 hours. Non-stop. No separate bathroom breaks, no separate showers, no separate beds.” Draco didn't look thrilled at the thought. “Look, we don't have to do this. If you want to have a date with someone I could arrange some…” 

But he was quickly cut off. Harry had come to a decision. The idea of the twins to bring the houses closer together had seemed rather foolish first. A stupid search for easter eggs surely couldn't bridge the huge gap between Slytherin and Gryffindor. But then, he’d already learned more about Draco during the past half hour than he ever thought he would. He grabbed Draco's hand. 

“Shut it and suck it Malfoy. Looks like you're stuck with me for the next 24 hours.” 

* * *

 

It wasn’t as bad as Draco initially thought it would be. It was much much worse. “No Potter. Just no. I am not okay with this. I will not be seen with you if you keep wearing  _ that. _ ” 

Draco sounded properly horrified, but that just made Harry more determined to keep wearing his Weasley sweater. It was the only item he owned that had a zipper on the side so he could put it on without letting go of Draco’s hand. Mrs. Weasley had made it for him so he’d have an easier time changing when he injured himself during quidditch. 

Now that all the eggs had been found the twins had called everyone to the three broomsticks to announce the winners. Draco had insisted they’d change outfits first but he was starting to regret that decision more and more with every passing minute. 

He’d had no problem with putting on something different since the hand-holding didn’t obstruct magically changing clothes, but Harry didn’t know how to do that and Draco knew better than to step in and help. The one time he tried that it had gone terribly askew and the image of a half-naked Vincent Crabbe still haunted his nightmares sometimes.

“Why not? It’s either this or a house elf style tea towel.” The smug smile Harry got from annoying Draco would probably be the death of him.

“Oh my god, Potter. I will literally kill myself if you’re going to wear a fucking tea towel.”

“Really? You don’t think I could pull it off? I thought it would accentuate my hips perfectly.”

Draco face palmed himself. “Kill me. Just fucking kill me now. I’m forced to hold hands with with Harry fucking Potter who thinks he looks sexy in a tea towel. And here I was thinking my life couldn’t get any worse.”

“At least you don’t have to spent the entire evening with hair hanging in your face. I can’t put mine in a bun with one hand.” And Harry made a failed attempt to blow his long hair out of his face to prove his point.

“Yeah, right. You have it much worse than me. As always” Draco rolled his eyes. Harry snorted.

“Okay. That’s it. Dress in a fucking potato sack? Fine. Complain about your riddikulus hair? Go ahead. But I am not getting laughed at.” Before Harry could apologize or call Draco a drama queen he was violently shoved face first against the wall of his dormitory.

“What the…?” 

“Shut it, Potter.” Draco twisted Harry’s arm behind his back and in one smooth movement grabbed all of Harry’s hair in his free hand. With a whispered wandless spell a magical ring appeared to tie it all together. As a petty revenge Draco pulled it much tighter than necessary. 

“So. Happy now?” He released Harry’s arm from its twisted position while continuing to hold hands.

“Sort of. It’s a bit too tight if I’m being hone… Ow!” Draco had pulled Harry’s hair again.

“You’re an absolute asrehole, you know that Potter?” Harry rubbed the back of his head.

“Nope. But you have until tomorrow afternoon to remind me.”

“Prick.” Draco sighed.

“Git.” Shot Harry back as he stuck out his tongue at him. It felt good to banter with each other over the tiny things. And when they walked hand-in-hand towards the three broomsticks Harry saw Draco smile a bit from the corner of his eyes. 

It might not be a perfect solution to all of their problems, but at least Draco could have some proper fun bitching to Harry the entire night, and Harry discovered he found that worth much more than a too tight ponytail or a sore shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope I managed to get the sexual tension ish across in this part. I'm not entirely sure.  
> Also, this isn’t the last part yet! Just the last part of today. I will still write something about the winners announcement at the three broomsticks, including a whole new ship... Stay tuned!  
> (oh, and I might also write about the dates the winners go on if thats what you guys want? If you do please leave a comment!)


	5. Part 5, the winners

  
“Attention! Attention! May we have your attention please?” Fred, George and Lee were standing on an improvised stage in the three broomsticks. The pub was filled with busy chatting students, but now they were quieting down.

“My dear fellow humans.” Stated Fred. “Today has been a wonderful day, with one exception.” He looked around the crowd with a cheeky grin on his face.

“That one exception being the tragic disappearance of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, who have somehow managed to get lost on their way here. Now I don’t think that they mean lost in the traditional sense, after all who hasn’t lost themself in those eyes as green as a fresh pickled toad?” And George shot a meaningful look at his sister, who sat curled up with Luna near the fire.

“Oi! Don’t look at me! I never wrote that!” Shouted Ginny, offended.

“You didn’t?” Asked George surprised.

“No, I didn’t. I am not the one here who made up a song about Ronald’s keeper qualities, now, am I?”

Right at that moment the door of the pub opened to reveal a slightly flustered and out of breath Harry and Draco, who were very openly _holding hands._

“Potter..?” Whispered Draco in Harry’s ear. “Why is everybody staring at us?”

“I don’t know.” Whispered Harry back. “But I have the idea it might be because we're holding hands.”

Draco gave himself a mental slap in the face. He hated missing the obvious.

“Ha! Gay!” Shouted Seamus, as he held up his own hand to reveal Dean was holding it. His words broke the silence and a storm of buzz went through the students. Ron was gaping at Harry with a flabbergasted look on his face, while Hermione gave him a knowing smile. Harry wasn’t sure what it was exactly that she knew, but he was glad to see her being happy nonetheless.

He had turned it into his personal mission to make as many people happy as possible after the war. Starting by breaking up with Ginny because she and Luna worked way better, followed by his blessing of Ron and Hermione, even if their frequent snogging made him feel left out. Draco had originally not been on his list, but after their quite fun afternoon Harry felt himself willing to add him. Draco might even be able to make Harry him self happy, if Merlin allowed it.

“Classy people you Gryffindors.” Draco straightened his back, he wasn’t going to let people in on how nervous he actually felt, standing here hand in hand with Harry while half the student body stared at them.

“Well! It seems like our last couple has finally decided to bless us with their presence! There’s still a spot free for the two of you near our other pair of fresh lovebirds.” And Lee indicated towards Dean and Seamus.

“We’re not together Jordan. Don’t be absurd.” Draco didn’t sound like he meant it though.

“It’s best to just go with it Malfoy. They won’t let us live it down anyway.” Whispered Harry in his ear. Draco wasn’t sure what he thought of Harry’s face so close to his, but decided now was not the time to figure it out.

Lee and the twins continued their speech while Harry and Draco made their way to Dean and Seamus. “What happened to you?” Asked Harry, pointing at the sling around Seamus’ neck which held his wounded arm.

“Fell of the bed during rough sex?” Draco arched an eyebrow at them. The anxiety meds hadn't completely taken away his snarky habits, and his nerves had calmed down a bit now that the focus of the students shifted towards the stage again. Seamus turned bright red.

“We’ve only been together since today, we haven’t….” Dean shook his head at his boyfriend, how the sarcasm had managed to go over his head...

“I was just teasing, relax Finnigan.” Draco fell down on the bench with a dramatic sigh.

“So where is that about?” Dean indicated at their conjoined hands.

“Egg assignment. It's more annoying than it looks. Toilets are an absolute nightmare.” Answered Harry. Seamus looked puzzled.

“Can't you just… ya know?” He made an imitation of a wand movement.

“Potter was never properly socialized in that area, it seems.” Responded Draco. He'd loosened up a bit after their walk from the castle. If he didn't try to overthink everything then talking to Harry was quite easy.

“Ey! At least I know how to survive without magic. I bet you can’t even bake an egg without your wand.” Harry poked Draco in his side. Draco had an unexpected response. He _squealed._

 _“_ Fuck, Potter. Don't do that.” Harry suddenly got a devilish grin on his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Draco looked from Harry to Dean and Seamus, hoping to get an explanation from either one, but he got nothing.

“Malfoy?” The tone in Harry's voice indicated nothing good. “Are you ticklish?”

“No, Potter. No. Don't you _dare_.” Draco suddenly didn't know how fast he had to squirm himself into the corner of their booth. He was the dictionary definition of ticklish. He would not live to see the morning if Harry took advantage of that.

“You are. Oh my god you _are.”_ There was a cheeky glister in his eyes. He poked Draco again and he made the same noise.

“Stop that Potter. It's not funny.” Draco rubbed the place where Harry's finger had been. This was not how he'd imagined his first physical contact with Harry to go since the war. Not that he'd thought a lot about…

“Uhm, Harry mate? Could we talk for a sec? In private?” It was Ron. Never in his life had Draco thought he’d be happy to see Ron but now he was. Anything better than the whole pub knowing what kind of riddikulus sound he could make when tickled.

“Sorry no can do. The egg assignment was pretty clear that the twenty four hours hand holding had to be non-stop.” Harry turned around towards his friend and held their intertwined hands up.

Draco suddenly got a nasty taste in his mouth when he saw how relieved Ron looked after that. He hoped it was because Harry was holding hands with him, Draco Malfoy, and not with him, a man. He and Harry would probably never work anyway so Draco could live with Ron hating him, but having a homophobic best friend would be a very painful experience for Harry. It was the last thing the saviour of the wizarding world deserved.

The odd look in Ron’s eyes when he saw Dean and Seamus kiss did nothing to erase his suspicions.

“Well… In that case I’m off. Good luck with that.” His remark was supposed to be about the hand holding, but Draco got the feeling ‘that’ might mean him. _Always nice to be addressed as an inanimate object instead of a person._ Thought Draco bitterly.

Harry followed Ron with his yes until he disappeared behind a group of Hufflepuffs. Judging by the look on his face he didn’t quite understand what just happened.

Luckily Ginny and Luna had decided to join them at their table that very moment, and their arrival broke the tension.

“Congratulations Dean!” Luna beamed at him.

“Why only Dean?” Asked Harry. Dean was suddenly very interested in his nails and refused to look at the others. Luna settled herself on Ginny’s lap, now that they were surrounded by another gay couple, the saviour and an ex-death eater they felt confident enough that no one would call them names. Not to their face anyway.

“Dean usually tells me all about how lovely Seamus is when we paint together. How his eyes lit up when he successfully blows something up, how his hands…”

“Luna.” Groaned Dean. His face was buried in his hands. “Please shut up?”

Seamus nearly fell off his chair from laughter.

“But you say such nice things about him! Surely he wouldn’t mind knowing how wonderful you think his hair looks in the morning?”

“Luna, honey. I think this is one of those moments where you embarrass people by telling the truth.” Ginny kissed her girlfriend. Luna looked sad.

“Why can’t people just be nice to one another? If I think Harry's got lovely eyes or Draco’s new tattoo makes his back look like a piece of art, why can’t I just say so? I’m only trying to be kind…”

“Of course Luna.” Draco reached over the table to give a squeeze in Luna’s hand. His face was slightly flustered, that tattoo had been a bit of a secret, but he could not let Luna be sad. Not the girl who’d sang _him_ to sleep last year while it had been _she_ who’d been locked up in a basement. “We’re just not used to people being honest. Even if from that honesty only good things grow.”

Dean, Seamus and Harry looked at the two full of surprise. Ginny just smiled at Draco, and put her own hand over theirs. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I meant.”

Ginny and Draco didn't consider themselves friends, but they both loved Luna to the moon and back, and that definetly created a bond.

“Harry.” Seamus talk-whispered. “I think our lovers might have a secret life together.”

“Seamus.” Whispered Harry back. “I think you're right.”

Draco suddenly felt a wonderful warm sensation go through his body. “Our lovers”, Seamus had said our lovers, and Harry hadn't denied it. Of course that didn't make it true, but apparently Harry wasn't opposed enough to the idea to feel the need to correct him, and that was something. He didn’t know what exactly, but something was good enough for now.

* * *

 

The pub was slowly emptying out, Dean and Seamus had already left, and Draco didn't know what to do. After an evening full of chatter and butterbeer Harry had fallen asleep. He was lying on Draco’s shoulder and it didn't look like he'd wake up anytime soon.

“Potter.” Draco experimentally poked him between his ribs. “Potter wake up, we have to go…”

Go where? Gryffindor tower? The Slytherin dungeons? Draco didn't know. This entire day had been quite exhausting and bizarre and Draco was just as tired as Harry. He felt like he could sleep for a century. Only he could never do that surrounded by other people. Except for his mom, Blaise and Pansy he didn't trust anyone enough to be near him while he slept. He might not sleep at all tonight for that reason.

Harry mumbled something and didn't wake, but curled himself up like a ball _on Draco’s lap_ and continued sleeping.

“Potter, what do you think you're doing?” Draco got zero response except for Harry nudging his head against Draco's chest while clutching his hand even tighter.

“Ahhh, look! Harry fell asleep, that's so cute.” Luna smiled, and mimicked Harry’s movement by curling up on Ginny’s lap.

“It’s not cute. It’s terribly inconvenient. How am I supposed to get to the castle now?” Okay, maybe it was cute, but that didn’t mean he had to admit it out loud.

Draco looked down at the man, the boy, asleep on his lap. He looked so peaceful, suddenly all Draco wanted to do was press a kiss on his forehead.

“You can, Draco. He has no one yet to spent his date on, and he quite likes you I think.” Luna gave him an encouraging smile.

“And what do you mean by that?” Draco tried to sound confused but he secretly hoped Luna knew exactly what he wanted, and that Harry really did like him.

But then, this was still his life they were talking about. Things like that simply didn't happen to him. They just didn't.

“You know what she means.” Said Ginny. “Harry doesn't fall asleep amidst people he doesn’t trust.” She paused, weighing her words, then continued.

“I have one piece of advice for you, take it or leave it.” And she pulled Luna a bit closer. “Our actions have meaning behind them. You didn't betray him when you could and he didn't leave you in that fire. You two have potential. It could work.”

Luna looked up to her girlfriend. “That's kind of you to say.” She pressed a kiss on her cheek.

“I didn't say it to be kind.” Ginny looked at Draco again, who couldn’t really believe this was a conversation he was actually having. “I said it because it's true. It's not easy to date someone when people who are close to you don't approve. But that should be the last reason not to do it.”

Luna hugged her girlfriend. It hadn't been easy for her the last months. Molly had been far from thrilled when she broke up with Harry, but when she told her they would never work because she was gay…

Well, Ginny had spent Christmas with the Lovegoods and the way things were looking now was slightly better, but still far from great.

“He wants to get to know you, and he trusts you. Otherwise he wouldn't be here. Don't walk away from him just because you think he’ll never like you that way, or because his friends won't accept it. That’s his decision to make. And it is up to you to decide if you want to get to know him or not.”

Draco was silent. He had never expected to hear those words from anyone, let alone Ginny. His eyes drifted towards Harry again. It was probably his imagination, but he thought he saw a glimpse of green for a second.

“That still doesn't solve my problem though. Unless I carry him in my arms I'll have to find a way to wake him up.” Ginny rolled her eyes, boys could be so stubborn sometimes.

“Then put him under a featherweight charm and move your ass of this bench. It's gonna be closing time soon.” To set an example she pulled out her own wand and poked Luna with it. The girl giggled.

“Are you carrying me to the castle?” She asked with a sleepy but big smile on her face.

“Yes.” Answered Ginny. “Otherwise, what's the point of dating a muscled quidditch player?” And she lifted Luna up in her arms.

“Night Draco” Luna waved at him.

“Night Luna.” He paused.

“Ginny!” Ginny turned around. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome.” She made a small bow movement and disappeared into the night.

“Well Harry, I think that's our cue to leave as well.” And after a quick charm Draco got up and followed Ginny, with Harry in his arms.

When Draco wasn't looking, Harry smiled.

He nudged his head against Draco’s chest again.

Something… Yes, there was something. Something that could become something more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “A man fears what a man knows not.”  
> aka why Ron might not have been the nicest person in this fic, I don't hate him, nor do I think he's homophobic. It's just all very new to him (not that I approve of his still somewhat idiotic behaviour)
> 
> So! this was me writing a 13 pages (in my word doc) fic in a very short time, hope you liked it!  
> I could continue... But only if people actually want me to otherwise I wont, as simple as that


	6. The night, Dean and Seamus

Dean and Seamus arrived at their dorm. It felt a bit weird, now that Ron slept with Hermione in the prefects room, Harry would probably wind up in the dungeons and Neville had left with Zabini. It looked like they were alone for the night.

“So… “ Seamus shot Dean a questioning look. “How are we doing this?”

“I don’t know, I’m no expert in gay…” Dean’s eyes widened when he noticed what he was implying. He’d meant relationships, but after the night they’d just had neither of them thought about that.

Seamus blushed. “I don’t think I want to…”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Added Dean quickly. “Not that I wouldn’t want you, uhm, to… I-I don’t want to…  ” But Dean didn’t look like he didn’t want to, didn’t look nearly as awkward as Seamus felt. 

Seamus blushed and started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He avoided looking at Dean. “I don’t think I can…”

Seamus wanted the uncomfortable atmosphere to lift but quickly realised that what he was trying to say wouldn’t do that. He mumbled the last bit of the line, hoping against the odds that Dean hadn’t heard him.

“Sorry I didn’t catch that.” Dean took an awkward step forward.

”I can’t, uhm, undress myself… It’s the arm you know?” Seamus looked at Dean through his eyelashes. He had never felt so uncomfortable in the presence of his friend, his  _ boyfriend _ before. He didn’t like the feeling. 

Then, out of the blue, Dean cupped his face and kissed him. He kissed him soft, tender, loving, like he’d done the first time when Seamus had been in the hospital wing. He tasted of root beer, whiskey and something distinctively  _ him.  _

Seamus relaxed into the kiss, feeling his unease slowly melt away. A small moan escaped him when Dean softly bit his bottom lip. One of Dean’s hands moved up underneath his jumper and the cold of his fingers made Seamus shiver. 

“So this is how we’re doing this?” 

Dean smiled against his lips. “Apparently it is. Ginny told me she always kisses Luna when she has no idea what to do. I thought I could give it a go.” 

“Mmmmh, good advice.” It was Seamus kissing Dean this time. He tried to turn of his mind and just go along with what his gut, or maybe a place a bit lower than his gut, told him to do. He put his healthy hand flat on Dean’s chest and softly pushed him towards the bed. His body felt like a furnace. “God, you’re hot.”

“That’s what happens when you kiss the explosives expert at Hogwarts. Bound to gather some heat along the way.”

“The way you play with words, you should be a writer.” Dean’s knees collided with the edge of the bed and he fell backwards. His breathing became heavy as he lay there in the shadow of the curtains. The light of the torches danced over his lover’s face, together with a glimpse of insecurity. 

Seamus bit his bottom lip. He didn’t want Dean like that yet, he didn’t feel ready. But he hadn’t exactly been clear about what he wanted. He hadn’t openly refused what Dean had suggested earlier. He had even pushed Dean onto his own bed, what kind of signal was that? Did he just agree to do something he wasn’t ready for?

He was eighteen, Dean had every right to expect him to be ready. He should be ready.  _ Fuck _ , why did he suddenly feel so extremely not ready? Maybe he should just do it, just suck it up and play along.

Dean kept his eyes focussed on the buttons of Seamus’ jumper as he pushed himself of the bed. Slowly, he started unbuttoning them. 

Seamus felt his breath hitch in his throat. He really didn’t feel comfortable with what was about to happen, nor did he feel brave enough to tell Dean to stop.  _ Maybe the brave thing to do now is go along with it despite my fear. Maybe I agreed to this when I pushed him on the bed, maybe… _

Dean kissed him but he didn’t respond, didn’t open his lips, didn’t even close his eyes. He just  _ froze.  _

“What’s wrong?” Dean’s dark eyes fixed on his face again. They were gorgeous, like they had the entire night sky reflected in them. Still Seamus couldn’t make himself react. He didn’t answer. 

“I thought you wanted this?” Dean sounded disappointed, confused, and the words resonated in Seamus’ head.  _ Failure. Coward. Chicken. Fraud. _

Seamus didn’t even know where all of these thoughts came from, he had never really been insecure about anything. But for Dean he wanted to be the most perfect version of himself, and perfect was not refusing your boyfriend to have sex, perfect was not freezing when he started to undress you, perfect was not agreeing to something and then failing to follow through. 

“I mean, you said you couldn’t undress yourself right?” Seamus blinked. Blinked again. The tone of Dean’s voice slowly seeped into his mind.  _ Concerned _ . Not disappointed, not irritated, not angry, but concerned.

“Did you think I… “ Dean looked shocked. “I wouldn’t. Never. Not if you’re not ready, of course not!” Dean’s voice shot up an octave at the end of his last sentence and he let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t think I’m one hundred percent ready myself.”

Seamus let out a breath he had bloody well known he’d been holding. He swayed a little on his legs. “Of course, silly of me to get worked up like that.” He said breathlessly. A hint of a smile formed on his face as his body was flooded with relief. He really wasn’t ready yet. 

Dean recognized his own words. “Not silly.” He kissed Seamus again, and this time he did respond. “It’s kinda sweet.”

Seamus laughed, then laughed some more. “Well, come on then. Let’s get me to bed before I get any more crazy ideas about what you will and won’t do.” He put his healthy arm around Dean and gave him a firm hug while the last of his nerves started to fade. 

“Are we sleeping in separate beds or…?” Asked Dean.

“Dean, we’ve been sharing a bed behind the back of the others since fifth year, let’s not get weird about the normal stuff.” Dean cast his eyes to the floor. Seamus kissed him again. 

“But thank you very much for asking. Like Luna once told me, good communication is the key to a healthy relationship.” 

Seamus felt like he was floating on cloud nine now that he knew Dean didn’t expect anything from him that he wasn’t willing to give him yet. It was an euphoric feeling, even better than a successful explosion.

Dean snickered. “I think Luna is the one that should write a book.”

“Yeah, maybe we should just stick to blowing stuff up and drawing.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Dean yawned and with his eyes half closed he made quick work helping Seamus undress down to his chest, leaving his pants up to him. Then he stripped down himself and put on his pyjamas. Seamus decided he’d just sleep in his boxers that night. It didn’t look like he’d get cold any time soon anyway.

“G’night Semmy.” Dean climbed into the bed and put a protective arm over his friend, his boyfriend, and soon dozed off with a smile on his face. 

“Good night Dean.” Seamus pulled Dean’s arm a little closer. “Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consent people! consent! It's important!   
> also i'm afraid the next update might be a little longer... real life is getting in the way a bit


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No i did not abandon this work but yes this chapter is very short because i sorta fell asleep halfway through writing it and so did the characters in it. But I hope you like it anyway

“So… I guess this is me.” Ginny put Luna back on her feet again at the foot of the stairs that lead to Ravenclaw tower. She had to take a left here to the other side of the castle.

Luna kissed her, not denying her statement. Ginny felt more than just a ping of sadness when their kiss was broken. The blond girl moved a couple steps up the stairs that would get her to her tower, leaving Ginny to go find her own bed. Following Luna to her tower, to her dorm, was not something she thought the girl was comfortable with just yet. 

“Demeter misses her daughter more than usual this time of year.” Luna sighed, watching the night sky through a window aligned with the staircase. “Or maybe she’s too busy fussing over Persephone to watch the grass grow and the flowers bloom. Romantic love can be more beautiful than nature if the stars allow it.”

“And do they allow it?” Ginny asked, hoping very hard that it was not a weird question. She was tired, slightly tipsy and Luna never had been the most straight forward person in the world. The meaning of her words wasn’t entirely clear. 

“I think they might.” Luna took a careful step back down and offered Ginny a hand, which the redhead took without really knowing what was going to happen next. As long as she could walk around hand in hand with the most beautiful soul ever to walk the earth  _ what happened next _ wasn’t really a concern of hers though. 

“But when I look at you I can’t help but think how much you are like the forces of nature.” Luna stepped down again, almost leveling her face with Ginny. “And if love is nature, then so are you.”

Ginny shivered. The cold of the castle had seeped into her body as the rest of her had focussed on Luna. The blonde girl descended the last step and lightly kissed her on the cheek. 

“So I am nature?” The redhead asked, now so puzzled by Luna’s words and lost in her grey eyes that she really couldn’t make heads or tails of it anymore. 

“You’re love.” Luna chuckled. “And I’m tired and cold.” Luna kissed Ginny’s lips, and for a moment everything around them ceased to exist. “Will you join me?”

Now  _ that _ was something Ginny still didn’t quite understand, because for all she knew Luna meant an obscure pagan ritual to quicken the pace of growing grass, but she nodded anyway. No matter what they were going to do that night, as long as it was with Luna Ginny couldn’t be happier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant promise when i'll update again. I'm in my final year of high school and things are insanely busy. Also I just suck at updating I'm sorry. I can promise you i will finish this thing, but if no one pokes me from time to time to remind me then it might take 35 years or so.   
> If you do want to poke me you can leave a comment or shoot me a essage on tumblr (@rose-grangerweasleyisbae)

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions for the contents of the eggs please feel free to sent them! I'm sure you guys are much funnier than i am...  
> Either leave them in the comments or send me a message on tumblr, my blog is @rose-grangerweasleyisbae  
> I promise I won't bite (and a comment that just says you like this thing so far (if you do) is more than welcome as well! no pressure to be funny!)


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